Hot topics in August

Kosmos

Culture, travel, fashion and culinary delights: the Kosmos pages of Lufthansa Magazin bring you interesting and useful tidbits from around the world

Law

Culture clash

All are equal before the law – but not all laws are the same. Globetrotters are well advised to familiarize themselves with some of the more arcane rules:

Look up!

Check your phone to see that you’re on the right road? Not in Honolulu: Anyone caught looking down at a cell phone while crossing the street in the capital of Hawaii faces a fine of 100 dollars.

Squeaky clean

It’s common knowledge that Singapore imposes tough penalties on gum chewers, but hygiene and cleanliness are otherwise writ large in the city state, too. Failing to flush a public toilet will earn you a minimum fine of 1000 dollars.

Leaving a mark

Sightseeing in high heels? Not only are stilettoes uncomfortable and inconvenient, they’re also prohibited in Greece because the heels can damage ancient monuments.

Palace of the windows

The Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, India, was built in 1799 for the sole purpose of allowing the ladies of the royal household to watch processions unobserved. Hence the 953 intricately screened windows in its facade.

Build your own kayak, row- or sailboat in only a week at the Great Lakes Boat Building School in the U.S. state of Michigan. Then set sail straight into the water sports arenas that are the Great Lakes on the doorstep.

It takes two…

The best place to see and learn to dance the tango is Buenos Aires, where the sensual dance was born and where the annual International Tango Festival and world championships take place (August 9 – 22).